Friday, May 23, 2014

Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn't your average teenager.

Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…

Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.

Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?

The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single My Daylight Monsters. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.

5 Ways That Mary Hades

Is Different From Your Average YA Series

I'm
pretty excited about this project. I find Mary the easiest character to write
because she is such a free spirit. However, there's a part of me that's nervous
about this series. I've mixed things up. Mary Hades doesn't follow a
formula.

Here
are five things you can expect, and five examples that are a little different
to most YA books.

1. IT'S NOT A TRILOGY:

At
the moment, the series is open ended, which means I’m planning to keep it going
for as long as I enjoy writing it. To me, this is almost like a long-running
television series, where each book will focus on a specific challenge.
I will be bringing in long-arc storylines at some point, but the first few
books are almost standalones.

2.
EACH NOVEL IS A SNAPSHOT:

Like
the novella that started it all—My Daylight Monsters—each novel, and each
story, is a snapshot into Mary’s life. That means that not all the books will
link on from each other. The first book has a resolution and no cliff-hanger,
but it sets up the rest of the series, because it shows Mary what she wants to
achieve with her life. This is going to continue throughout the series. Think
of them as brief instalments into her very interesting life. Characters will
come and go. Not all of the novels will be set in the same place. There is a
lot of scope for the series. It could go on as Mary goes to University, or a
spin off with different characters could occur. There are no set rules here.
Think of it as an urban fantasy series, but more contemporary.

3.
THE NOVELS ARE SHORT:

The
main reason I write Mary Hades at a shorter length is because the tone is very
deep first person POV present tense. The books are meant to be
all-encompassing. I want the reader to be drawn into Mary’s world, and that is
an intense ride. These sorts of novels are almost always short. Think of the
wonderful How I live Now, or the engrossing Never Let Me Go—they are both short
novels and that suits them very well. The first instalment of Mary Hades will
be about 280 pages. On the plus side, shorter novels means I can write the
instalments quicker, so you won’t have to wait long for the next book. And, as
the books are shorter, I’ve decided to charge less for them, so you won’t be
paying more for a shorter novel. However, quality almost always beats quantity.
;)

4.
THIS IS DARK FICTION:

When
I started writing My Daylight Monsters, I was very influenced by Gothic
literature. That’s a very broad brush. I always loved Victorian Gothics, like
Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Grey. These novels always have a supernatural
element and always have some sort of dark, looming presence. In My Daylight
Monsters, that presence is the hospital, and the deepest fears we harbour
there. In Mary Hades, that looming presence is the Yorkshire moors—of course,
inspired by Wuthering Heights. Other influences could include Daphne Du
Maurier. I had a few scenes from Jamaica Inn playing in my mind as I wrote this
book. Mary Hades is much more grown up than my other novels. In the past, my
books like The Blemished and White Hart have been more suited to younger YA.
Mary Hades is best for older teens and adults.

5. HORROR AND ROMANCE?

Yup,
you better believe it. In the midst of fighting a really scary ghost, Mary
manages a holiday romance. Hey, call me a romantic, but I think a girl needs to
take some time off from her ghost hunting once in a while.

In
all seriousness, I want the books to be scary AND uplifting. There’s a definite
contemporary feel to the writing, and hopefully that ties in with the romance.

Sarah grew up in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Derbyshire and as a result has an over-active imagination. She has been an avid reader for most of her life, taking inspiration from the stories she read as a child, and the novels she devoured as an adult.

Sarah mainly writes speculative fiction for a Young Adult audience and has had pieces of short fiction published in the Medulla Literary Review, PANK magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. Her short story 'Vampires Wear Chanel' is featured in the Wyvern Publication Fangtales available here:

Sarah's debut novel The Blemished is a fast paced young adult dystopia set in a fractured Britain. It follows the events of Mina Hart, a young Blemished girl who has a dangerous secret, as she tries to escape the dreaded Operation and get out of Area 14.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they’re sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few “dates”, it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What’s a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you’re meant to be with, if you’re still figuring out the person you’re meant to be?

Paula Stokes is half writer, half RN, and totally thrilled to be part of the world of YA literature. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she graduated from Washington University and the Goldfarb School of Nursing. When she’s not writing, she’s kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers! Find her online at www.authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.

Meet Kimberly...

I'm a 29-year-old bibliophile, a proud nerdfighter, and a comic book fanatic. I love listening to podcasts of The Bobby Bones Show and Welcome To Night Vale, I find that things are more interesting if there are zombies involved, and I'm always on the hunt for the next greatest song to add to my soundtrack.